Friday, June 22, 2012

Sunday, 17 June, 2012: Seven Fountains


by Chris

Zamtime has begun to seep into our daily routine. We arrived for church at Seven Fountains about ten minutes late, expecting Bible class to begin at 9:00. Wilson Siazilo, the elder statesman of the church, greeted us in the churchyard. Being the guest speaker for the morning, I was embarrassed and so I apologized. We made our way to the entrance of the church, stepping over the numerous cowpatties in the church yard, and walked inside to find that no one else had arrived yet. Gotta love Zamtime.

Bible study started at about 9:30. We discussed Deuteronomy 8. We celebrated the Lord's Supper with saltine crackers and watery wine, and listened to Chris and Shepherd preach a bilingual sermon on spiritual growth from Phil. 1:6. Seventy two people were present, contributing a total of 139,150 kwacha (about $28). At the end of the services a quartet of young men honored our team by singing three beautiful songs in Tonga. (Wow, the Tonga people have a gift for singing!)

Finally we participated in a wonderful tradition. Wilson asked our team to exit the church first, as honored guests, and we stood just outside the door. Then, as one of the ladies led an echoing song of good bye, the congregation sang and filed past, shaking our hands, one at a time.

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